Seven-time major doubles champion Jamie Murray is back as a BBC Sport columnist over the Wimbledon fortnight.
Before his opening match, the 37-year-old Scot discusses how British players must grasp the opportunity given to them by wildcards at the All England Club.
Wimbledon is always the fortnight of the season where British tennis has the biggest opportunity to showcase the talent we have.
The singles receives most of the attention, obviously, but the Championships also provide a huge platform for the players in the doubles, juniors and wheelchair players to make a name for themselves with the wider public.
If I’m a general tennis fan from the UK, I want to turn on my TV – or go to Wimbledon – to watch the stars, of course. But I also want to see local players I can get behind.
For the British public and for Wimbledon, it would be nice to see lots of different players winning matches and going far to keep interest in the tournament high across the nation.
Hopefully that will happen. There is a different feel about the tournament when you have that home interest.
Six British players won in the first round of the singles – my brother Andy, Cam Norrie, Liam Broady, Jodie Burrage, Jan Choinski and Katie Boulter – and hopefully there will be many more wins to come across all the events.
This year there has again been a lot of debate about the state of British game, with only a handful of singles players ranked in the world’s top 100 and a bunch of wildcards being handed out for Wimbledon.
By giving out the wildcards for Wimbledon, you would hope it would inspire players to work their butts off and earn their right to play regularly at this level of events.
To get the opportunity to play at Wimbledon should be inspiring to anyone who competes here.
With the money they get for playing in the first round, the players should be taking that money and furthering their career by investing in themselves.
Tennis is an expensive sport.
The money the British players earn at Wimbledon should help them fund the next year of their career and the way the LTA is supporting them with wildcards is another form of funding their careers.
Next year it would be nice if more players are competing in the main draw without a ‘WC’ next to their name.
There are many ways to look at what constitutes the health of the British game.
Is it the number of Grand Slam champions?
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